Chapter 25

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 25

Chapter Title: New Student (2)

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The mountain is a mountain, the water is water.

I liked how truly blue the sky was.

The middle-aged professor at the front of the classroom, with his slightly receding hairline, was passionately lecturing about famous Awakeners who had fallen to become villains.

But none of that was registering in my ears right now.

Resting my chin on my hand and tilting my head slightly to the side, the sunlight pouring in through the window was dazzling.

I was about to bask in it and attempt some photosynthesis without even squinting.

"...Tch."

Suddenly, a sharp pain surged through my thigh area. I shrugged my shoulders dramatically and turned my head, frowning.

I was about to demand what the hell she was doing.

"...".

Cheon So-yul was just staring at me silently.

Ah, of course, while persistently pinching my thigh with her right hand.

I rolled my eyes up and down to convey, 'You gonna let go?' but Cheon So-yul didn't budge. She just raised an eyebrow.

With a chilling expression like she was saying, 'Look at this guy,' she finally released her hand.

But that wasn't because my glare worked. It was more like one step back for two steps forward. Probably.

I was about to nod in satisfaction when she looked up at me coldly and reached out without hesitation.

This time, not my thigh.

Straight for my groin.

"?"

I froze for a split second, too flustered to react properly.

But that only lasted a moment.

"...?!"

Before I could even think leisurely, Cheon So-yul's soft palm gripped my vital spot firmly.

I let out a silent scream, eyes bulging wide. Genuine bewilderment filled my gaze as I stared at her.

And only then did she mercifully release her ruthless grasp.

Pulling out a handkerchief as if to act prim and proper, she wiped her hand roughly and shot me a glare.

Her lips moved briefly.

She was telling me to stop daydreaming and pay proper attention to the professor.

I was so dumbfounded that my lips just flapped weakly.

'...This crazy bitch, now she's groping me anywhere she pleases.'

I couldn't retaliate since the professor might notice. Burning with indignation, I protested with just my eyes.

Of course, she just snorted and whipped her head away.

Ah.

Really.

I just wanted to smack her once. Exactly once. That infuriating look on her face.

My hands trembled under the desk, while Cheon So-yul pretended nothing happened.

'Hoo...'

A deep sigh nearly escaped me. It was frustrating having to swallow it silently.

...But it wasn't because of Cheon So-yul.

On the contrary, I knew exactly why she was suddenly subjecting me to this unreasonable physical assault(?).

'...Jealous at the drop of a hat.'

I inwardly chuckled at how ridiculous it was.

Cheon So-yul twitched her eyebrow and glanced back at me.

Yeah, the reason for her little demonstration. It all started at yesterday's freshman welcome party.

The event was going normally until freshman rep Ryu Se-eun's explosive confession.

Rumors about it had already spread across campus—even the cat in the guard booth knew.

If it had a headline, it'd be something like, 'Shock! Freshman Rep Ryu Se-eun Confesses to Second-Year Runner-Up Senior!'

That's probably when Cheon So-yul started feeling unjustly annoyed with me.

Naturally, seeing me distracted by it during class irked her even more.

She probably used 'guidance' as an excuse to mix in some personal feelings with her handiwork.

For someone who claimed not to care what I did with whom, this was a pretty sensitive reaction. Honestly, pretty funny.

'Kinda cute, though...'

Hm.

Thinking about it this way, maybe I really was blinded by physical and emotional affection, clouding my judgment.

A year ago, I never would've imagined calling Cheon So-yul—with her bitchy personality—'cute.'

Her looks being pretty? Sure, maybe.

Anyway.

Since she'd pointed it out...

I should at least pretend to focus on class for a bit. Just a little.

And so, five minutes passed.

"Ah..."

I realized it was far too late to suddenly concentrate now.

I sprawled across my desk, and Cheon So-yul let out a frustrated sigh.

"...Whatever, do what you want."

Her voice carried a hint of pouty resignation—did it sound good to me because I'm weird?

I chuckled softly and closed my eyes.

It wasn't anything important or impressive enough to listen to anyway, so closing my eyes for a bit should be fine.

Our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seats were at the very back corner, after all.

Ding!

If only the smartphone in my pocket hadn't vibrated with that notification sound.

I definitely could've dozed off warmly in the sunlight.

'...What is it?'

Still face-down on the desk, after a brief hesitation, I cracked my eyes open and fumbled in my pocket for the phone.

Cheon So-yul's expression was turning ghostly as the guy who was just napping now pulled out his phone, but...

I ignored it and checked the messenger app.

[Top Student Junior]

"...Uh..."

I let out a small, awkward sound.

Why was she messaging now?

Sure, we'd exchanged numbers yesterday, but we weren't close enough to chat privately during class.

...Or were we? She did confess, so maybe we'd connected.

Hm. No clue. It wasn't important anyway—just flustered thoughts dragging on.

I opened the chat and checked Ryu Se-eun's messages.

"...".

I suffered a brief cognitive dissonance.

What the hell was this? Were we close?

Part of me wanted to possess some villainous lady—or villainous senior—and hit her with, 'You think we're buddies?'

The only reason I didn't was my outstanding character.

I equipped my default gentle mindset and tapped the keypad.

'Hm.'

Looking back, it didn't seem much different. Kinda snippy. Right?

'...Whatever.'

After a moment's conflict, I decided not to overthink. Actually, with this junior, I might need to tone it down intentionally.

Wasn't this a bit harsh for a girl who confessed to me human-to-human?

Not entirely wrong, but her confession was so out-of-the-blue and suspicious that...

I even hypothesized that Black Heaven Ryu Jin-seong's scheme(?) might be behind Junior Ryu Se-eun's confession.

As I stared at my phone tensely, feeling Cheon So-yul's pitiful gaze like I was pathetic...

Ding.

A reply came.

"...".

...That was a solid hit. Pretty strong, actually.

Unexpectedly, she knew how to negotiate.

What to do? I pondered briefly, but my answer was set.

I didn't want to waste more time on this.

I rubbed my forehead and jabbed the keypad hard. Tap tap, no—press press.

"...This little shit..."

I sighed deeply.

Dealing with her was exhausting.

The meeting spot was the east entrance of campus. Wait at the bus stop here, and you could reach downtown Daejeon in 10 minutes.

Not that we were going that far.

Why bother? Just a short walk from the academy led to a university district with plenty of options.

That's where I was taking Ryu Se-eun. I knew a great place.

Hands shoved deep in my jacket pockets, I headed to the spot, arrived quickly, and looked around.

...So where was she?

"Hm."

No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turquoise hair in sight, so maybe text her? Instead, I expanded my presence detection and shuffled toward where she might be.

An alley off the main road, deep inside.

"The meeting's over there, what're you doi—..."

Sure enough, there was first-year top student Ryu Se-eun.

...She was there, alright.

I shut my mouth mid-complaint, lips pressed thin.

Her behavior—leaning against the wall—was that shocking.

"...Ah, um."

A beat late, she noticed me and panicked too.

Her rabbit-wide eyes hurriedly pulled the stick from her mouth.

"...".

"...".

Awkward silence fell. I rubbed my eyes, and she asked, ears slightly red with embarrassment.

"...You saw?"

I wanted to say no, but the evidence was too clear.

I conveyed it with my eyes. She rubbed her forehead.

"Why'd you come so early? You're taking me seriously."

"You have a talent for making people curious."

"Ah, thanks for the compliment."

"Not a compliment. An insult."

She probably let my last line go in one ear and out the other. Smacking her lips, she reached into her pocket again.

And pulled out... yep, that stick I'd just seen.

A cigarette.

"Not a cigarette."

What? It wasn't?

As if reading my mind, she wagged the stick with a sour face.

Now I examined it closely. Definitely not a cigarette.

It was white, but the tip was blue.

I blinked. I knew what it was.

"Mana herb?"

"...Yeah, something like that."

She nodded awkwardly, confirming.

Mana herb, not a cigarette.

A staple for mana-deficient mages. I'd tried one a few years back.

...Got caught by my master immediately and beaten senseless, though.

I gave her a dubious look.

"So what's the difference from a cigarette?"

"...Hm."

She frowned thoughtfully, then said with dead seriousness.

"It's different."

"Like how?"

"Different name."

"...".

"...".

"...".

"...So this is mana herb, cigarette is cigarette, even if effects are similar, the names are fundamentally—"

"Stop."

"...Ahem, my ace joke bombed."

For real?

I stared in disbelief, and she cleared her throat awkwardly, tapping off the residual mana.

I muttered inwardly.

Info: Freshman top student is a smoker.

"Not a cigarette!"

"...!"

I flinched. She read my mind again.

Ji-woo noona had a twin here.

"...Anyway, let's go. You're buying, right?"

"If you keep your promise."

"What promise?"

"Explain properly. No 'love at first sight' crap."

"Of course."

Ryu Se-eun nodded confidently.

But faint worry lingered on her face...

Did she really have some circumstance?

'Hard to tell from her expression.'

Fine, I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buy her a meal and see.

I smacked my lips and led the way.

She trailed after me like a puppy, tilting her head.

"Where we headed?"

"You'll see."

I answered curtly, cutting off further nagging with a counter-question.

"Aren't you nineteen? Allowed to smoke mana herb?"

She scratched her cheek.

"I'm twenty."

"?"

"Same age as you. Repeated a year."

"??"

"Oh, can I drop the formal speech?"

I ignored her hopeful question, but thought:

'Repeated a year... and smokes mana herb?'

No way.

Was she a delinquent?

A pretty reasonable suspicion.